Useful Links
- The NEHB Preparedness Blog.
- Critical Information About The Rally
- Run Through Calendar
- Tools for recording yourself
- Map of participants
- Additional learning tracks available to attendees, order from Music VP Will Johnson
- $15 per part, electronic only
- $17 per part, electronic + CD plus $3 shipping per order
Enjoying the Rally, and sponsorships:
I was chatting with a long-time member of NEHB last night, and we both agreed that the very best way to enjoy the Rally is to arrive with confidence - to know that when you sing, you will be making beautiful music. Everyone is an asset to a Rally.
If you are a sponsor to an attendee, it's time to help literally sponsor their fun - to answer their questions, guide them through the learning process, and give them the confidence they need so they look forward to September.
Attendees - do not be passive. It is to your benefit to talk to your sponsor about your progress - even if your progress is EXCELLENT. You can help others if you are doing well, and you can get help when you need it.
Please - if you haven't checked in with each other, do so over the weekend.
And an anonymous shout-out to the first-time attendee who I sang with last week, who was helping me correct my errors. You are the reason NEHB is fun.
If you do not know who your sponsor/attendee is, or how to reach them - write to me privately and I will check for you.
Candor
I'm enjoying the songs a lot, and I have been thinking I am making excellent progress. But my book is FULL of notes where I am making mistakes. I am cheerleading preparation not because I am "better", but because I am "average" - and I know how much preparation improves my Rally.
So, a few weak spots of mine on the bass part. Nora - I keep saying the wrong word instead of "sheiking". Blackbird - I still don't have breathing spots down, and I cannot command and control the rhythm of the song as well as I need to. Bare Necessities - I keep failing on the little shout-out. (And since this is a chorus rep song for me, that's embarrassing.)
Come find me, practice with me, and help me fix my stuff!
Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring
No, this is not a barbershop song. It is an opportunity to sing an absolutely gorgeous song and show the world that you are barbershop and more!
This song was written by Bobby Troup, famous for acting as Dr. Joe Early in the 70s TV phenomenon Emergency! One of his other most famous songs was “Get Your Kicks On Route 66”, but he had songs recorded by many other artists, like Nat King Cole, Frankie Lane, Louie Jordan, and many other people from the 40s and 50s.
In my background reading, many authors stated that the Beach Boys practiced their close harmony sound when Brian Wilson tried to make them sound more like The Four Freshmen, whose version our arrangement is based upon.
You can enjoy the following interpretations - none of which have the “continuous wall of sound” of barbershop. But each performance has its own meaning and style.
You can hear Bobby Troup sing this song.
The Beach Boys rewrote the lyrics to be about the death of James Dean (A Young Man Is Gone)
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